monogatari
by frcpirate
Summary: Mahiru is left with Keiko and Akira to run the Moonshine after the others return to the Moon Palace. A cute, sad, and sometimes happy story loosely based on my obsession with Peter Pan. MahiruxMitsuru, AkiraxKeiko. R&R!


A/N: Hey everyone! I realized when I posted this the first time… I didn't but a title or disclaimer or notes or anything…

This story is an idea that I've been refining for some time. It is kinda going to turn Peter Pan-ish in a bit, but never fear. After the first posting of this story, I realized that I might not want it to be rated M. I'll try to keep it T+ at most and I'm going to bring the rating down to T. It shouldn't be too bad. But, as a warning, this story does have some sexual themes, though I'll try to keep them not as risqué.

If anyone is wondering about the title—monogatari means story. And that is a theme in this story.

Um.. thanks in advance to those who are reading this and I'm sorry it took me so long to get something out after Mizu!

monogatari--prologue

The Moonshine was filled with blooming flowers. Katsura sat at the piano's bench, playing a cheerful melody. Akira and Keiko danced in the center of the room. The night was young, and the two looked very much in love.

Mahiru sat in a chair at the bar and watched her two friends. They looked very happy with one another. It was refreshing to see two of her friends happy. Tears came to her eyes.

"What's up, girlie?" Nozomu asked from behind the bar, "Need anything to drink?"

"No thanks. I'm just happy for them. It's good that they can finally be together."

"It took them long enough." Nozomu said. Keiko and Akira had gone through a peculiar courtship that had lasted the better part of three years. Mahiru laughed. At least they could be happy. If Mahiru had even a semblance of a courtship with the boy she loved, she would be satisfied.

Mitsuru stood on the roof of the Moonshine. He couldn't stand to be near all of the people laughing and carrying on and generally having a _good _time. He didn't feel happy. He didn't feel like celebrating. He was angry and he had no idea why. Why did it matter that everyone was happy about a stupid wedding anyway? The only thing that changed was that those two would have to put up with each other every day.

Mitsuru couldn't even imagine having to deal with someone every day for the rest of his life.

Nozomu's bat had been flying around his head for the last ten minutes but he was ignoring it. He didn't want to go inside and see all of the happy people.

"Mitsuru, come inside now. We're about to call it a night and you have to at least say good bye to Akira." Nozomu's voice came from the bat. Mitsuru growled. He didn't _have _to say good bye to anybody.

Mahiru had just begun to get drowsy when Nozomu asked her to dance. The music was cheery and Akira and Keiko were watching her expectantly. She shrugged her shoulders and took the vampire's hand. It was then that Katsura's song changed. Nozomu held her close as they danced to the slow melody. Mahiru closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder. She listened to the music and let herself be carried away.

She was content as it was now. She wasn't lonely. She had friends that she cared for greatly. As long as they didn't leave her she would never really need what Keiko had. She smiled. Why had she been so upset?

She heard the faint sound of a door closing and the grumbling of a tengu as he swung his hands at the bat that floated about his head. When he reached the bottom, his hair was disheveled and his face held a familiar scowl. He hadn't changed much over the years. He had grown a few centimeters, filled out his muscles a bit, but his hair was the same aqua blue, and his eyes were still captivating. She lifted her head from Nozomu's shoulder and her eyes locked with those of the boy who had just entered the room.

Laughter erupted at the sight of Mitsuru's distress and Mahiru couldn't help but giggle. Nozomu stepped back and yelled, "Mitsuru, why don't you finish this dance for me. I have to clean up at the bar." Mitsuru's eyes opened in shock.

"You tricked me!" Mitsuru said in response, "That's the only reason you wanted me to come in! I'm not dancing with that girl!" He began to walk back up the stairs. If Mahiru was upset by his words she didn't show it. Her eyes were still glowing with mirth, even as the tengu spoke badly about her.

"Don't you dare leave, Mitsuru! It's my night and I won't let you leave until you dance with Mahiru!" Akira yelled, happy to have the opportunity to make Mitsuru do whatever he wanted. Mitsuru growled and stared at his werewolf friend. Akira refused to back down and Mitsuru stomped over to where Mahiru was. Nozomu, by this time, had returned to the bar. Mahiru stared at Mitsuru with wide eyes. She found herself becoming exceedingly nervous. He took her hand and began to move n the dance floor.

Mitsuru looked at Mahiru and was amazed at how beautiful she had become. Her eyes were closed, taking in the music, and her expression was heavenly. Her body swayed in perfect time with the music. Dancing with her was making him go crazy. His body was reacting in ways that it shouldn't. Dammit, what was he thinking? He could never be good enough for her. She was a sweet, kind, and thoughtful girl and he would only hurt her. He could never act on his feelings. "Thank you." He thought he heard Mahiru whisper. And he danced with her, knowing that she would never be his and his heart was doomed to wither, just as everything else had.

The night came to a close. Mahiru walked up the steps to her bedroom and flopped down on her bed. She had a feeling that everything was going to change… and soon.

After the rest of the house had succumbed to slumber, Mitsuru made his way to the bar. Quietly, he poured himself a drink. Oboro hadn't told her. Mitsuru could tell. He sighed. After they had recovered the missing teardrops, his relationship with Mahiru hadn't changed much. He didn't allow himself to be alone with her. Sure, she was attractive and he wanted to be with her. But when they had returned, she wouldn't even speak to him, let alone repeat the kiss he relived every night in his dreams.

He reached for the bottle. He knew it had to end some time. He understood that she had just been caught up in the moment, and that she hadn't really cared about his feelings after all. He heard a door close and the sound of someone stumbling down the stairs. The gasp that came after the struggle was all he needed to confirm the identity of the intruder.

"M-mitsuru! What're you doing here?" She asked. A bottle of champagne was in her hand. She hadn't bothered with a glass. Mitsuru didn't bother answering. He finished his drink and began to walk up the stairs. She grabbed his sleeve. "Why do you walk away every time I come into the room?" she asked.

"I don't" he said. She chose that moment to look up at him. Her eyes were filled with tears. "You're drunk."

"I'm not. This is just because of the wedding. People drink at weddings." Her face was down again. She began to shake. Mitsuru knew she was crying. He grabbed her into a hug.

"I'll never leave the room again, ok? Just don't get so damn emotional." She nodded. Mitsuru let her go and began to walk up the stairs again.

"Will you stay with me for a while? I'd rather not be alone right now." Mitsuru glared at her before returning to his place at the bar. Mahiru sat next to him and remained silent. They hadn't talked in so long. Where would she start?

"You looked pretty tonight." Mitsuru's said, his voice gruff. Mahiru blushed and became very interested in her hands, which were being wrung together in her lap.

"You always look good." She whispered.

Mahiru didn't know if it was the remaining effect of the alcohol, or if it was just long-ignored attraction, but she leaped out of her seat and threw her arms around his neck.

Mahiru woke the next day to a bright sun. She arched her back and stretched her muscles, warming them up for the day ahead. She snapped her head to look at the other side of her bed, as if remembering something vitally important. It was empty. She sat up sharply, noticing her own nakedness for the first time, and saw the open window. The white curtains were billowing in the breeze.

She slipped on her light blue pajamas and a robe and walked down the stairs to the bar. Oboro was sitting, drinking a glass of orange juice. He seemed to be waiting for her.

"Good morning, Princess." He said when she neared him.

"Morning." She said, through a yawn, "Where is everyone?"

"They went to the Moon Palace."

"Oh. When are they coming back? I'll cook or something since Akira's gone." Oboro put down the glass he was drinking out of.

"Princess," he began, "You've lived her for-ah- four years? We were very lucky to have you to help us with our mission. However, now that it's completed, we have to return. Akira will remain here with his new wife, and I have chosen to leave ownership of the Moonshine to you." Mahiru couldn't speak. They were gone? Just like that? Had Mitsuru known and just not told her?

Mahiru spent the morning keeping herself barely composed, helping Oboro transfer ownership and prepare to return to the palace. Oboro left, giving her a hug and good wishes. Mahiru had to control herself in order not to scream at him. How she hated him at that moment.

Mahiru walked up the stairs to her room, but paused in the hallway. She looked at the doors that would no longer hold the cheerful faces she had grown accustomed to over the years. She went to Mitsuru's door, and caressed it lightly with her fingertips. Had it only been hours before that he was tracing her chin with his fingertips, whispering words of admiration into her ears?

And, though her memory was fuzzy, she distinctly remembered him whisper to her as he prepared to enter her.

"_I love you."_

When Keiko and Akira arrived home the next day they found her, curled up on the floor outside Mitsuru's room asleep, with dried tears mothering her face.

They woke her and she acted as if nothing had happened. She understood they already knew. She stepped into the shower, allowing the water to wash away her tears and began again. It was selfish to put her feelings above the business that would support herself and her friends. The next day she moved her things into Mitsuru's room, clinging to him in any way she could.

Mahiru did the only thing she could think to do. She continued living in the Moonshine, she ran the bar with the assistance of Akira and Keiko, but she refused to hire anyone outside of her family. Akira took care of the food, Keiko tended the bar, and Mahiru, who had taken piano lessons from Katsura after the Teardrops had been collected, tried her best to provide entertainment to her customers. She threw herself into her work, and for months Akira and Keiko were trying to get her to date, to try to move on.

So she did. She socially dated man after man, trying to convince herself that she hadn't loved Mitsuru. Wait. Loved Mitsuru? She hadn't remembered thinking of him that way when he was living down the hall from her. Or maybe she had. Maybe she was really just too naïve to notice it. Until he was gone.

She was sitting at a table with a boy Akira had introduced her to when she realized this. She giggled nervously and put her head in her hand. She had loved Mitsuru all along and never said anything. Trust her to realize this while she was on a date with another guy.

"What's so funny?" Her date asked.

"Oh nothing, I just thought of something Keiko said to me the other day."

"What was that?"

"It's just girl talk."

And she left it at that.

This man, Shinji, was very nice. He was getting nicer and nicer with every glass of wine. Mahiru was also becoming even more depressed as the night progressed. He walked her home and she had to take off her high-heeled shoes in fear of breaking an ankle. When he finally led her to the door of her bar she said, "I had a really good time. You're a funny guy. We'll have to go out again sometime." She turned to go into her house, but Shinji stopped her. She turned around, confused.

"You're a really nice girl. I'd love to take you out again sometime." He said.

And then he kissed her.

A dam broke in Mahiru's mind. All the sexual tension she had been feeling since her revelation came forward, and she lost control. All that mattered was Shinji's mouth on hers, all that mattered was the way she dragged him into her house and led him up the stairs to her room. It didn't matter that the room she moved into was Mitsuru's and that she only wanted him. She had to drown her sorrows in this perfectly willing man in front of her.

It didn't matter that she felt, in the instant Shinji kissed her, the intense eyes of the only man she loved turn their gaze upon her.

It was then that Hana came.

Mahiru refused to date any more men. She knew she was in love with Mitsuru, and she felt bad enough for betraying his love. She refused to date Shinji again, much to his dismay. She wanted their _brief _encounter to be their only encounter.

Of course, he called more than was healthy.

The next few years were happy years for Mahiru. Hana was a beautiful, growing girl, and her childish antics made many of the customers treat her like their own daughter. Keiko, Akira, and Mahiru were all tremendously proud of her, and were glad to see her grow to be a lovely young woman.

When Mahiru had moved into Mitsuru's old room, she left her old room exactly as it was--A small bed in the corner, a bureau on the wall next to the window, and a desk near the door. Now Hana spent her nights there, and Mahiru entertained her with stories of Akira and Keiko, and Mitsuru and herself. Every little girl loves to hear stories of romance and adventure right before they sleep. And Mahiru's stories were Hana's favorite part of the day.

Let me know what you think!

frcpirate


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